Texas Holdem Poker | An Introduction To Poker Slang

If you’re new to the world of poker, you desperately want to play but you don’t want to look too “green” then you should probably brush up on some poker terminology. You don’t have to learn how to speak a new language to look like a pro because learning just a few terms can make a few fear you at the table!

Some of the most common terms like trips, quads or "ol' one eye" are pretty obvious pointing to three of a kind, four of a kind and the notorious one eyed jack. When you’re looking to impress some avid poker players, brushing up on a few terms that aren’t so common will do the trick.

Let’s look at a few hands you may have and the correct terminology for portraying a big boy at the table. After all, the last thing you want to say when you see two aces in your hand is, “I have a pair” so let’s look at the terminology for pairs.

A-A= these are called “Pocket Rockets”.
K-K= “Cowboys” or “Elvis Presleys” and some times “Penn & Teller”
Q-Q= often “The Twins”, “The Ladies”, “The Hiltons” or “The Dirty Duo”.
J–J= sometimes Jacks are called “Jokers”, “Hooks” or “Jerky Joes”.

These valued cards often have some wacky names and it may seem hard to keep up with some of them but you’ll soon realize that’s not so bad compared to some others. For instance, take a look at the slang on these babies.

2-2= “Ducks” or “Deuces”
3-3= “Prom Night” or “Crabs”
6-9= “Top or Bottom”, “Delight” and “Big Lick”.
K-J= “KoJak”
A-J= “Apple Jacks” or “Apple Fritter”

The terminology listed above can help you but only to an extent. To be seriously efficient in a poker game, learn a few other terms to show that you are experienced and you mean business, everyone bluffs sometimes. These terms are usually used in context when referring to a stage of play.

What is the flop? The flop as it’s called is actually the first stage of play involving the community cards when the first three are laid upon the table in any type of “Holdem” style of poker. There are several ways the word flop is used and if you’ve watched televised poker play, it can be confusing.

What does it mean when someone says:

“He’s seeing the flop” - Generally speaking this means that “he” the player will stay in the game, stay in the pot or the ante until “he” sees the first three cards—the flop.

“He’s hitting the flop” - This is a phrase that any poker player loves to hear and it means that the flop cards which are the first three of the community laid in the center of the table are going together well with the hole cards the player is holding that were dealt face-down to “him”. The chances of putting together a winning poker hand is looking pretty good.

“The post-flop is up” - Basically this describes an action such as a bet most commonly. A player has bet post flop; the player has waited after he sees the post flop cards and means that the player didn’t bet blind.

“It’s coming down to the river” - The river refers to the last hand of Holdem style poker game. The very last card laid upon the table face-up, is the river.

Learning some of these terms should get your foot in the door to a good poker game but after you’re in it’s up to you. Have fun playing poker and even more fun learning some of the new slang.

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